COMSTOCK PARK – Comstock Park’s baseball team set a school record for most wins this season, and along the way, the Panthers captured conference and district championships.

The West Michigan Umpires Association agreed that the Panthers also played the game the right way.

Officials honored Panthers coach Tim Johnson with its 2013 WMUA Coach of the Year award this week. Grand Rapids area umpire Paul Titchenell stopped by Comstock Park’s annual season-ending team banquet Tuesday night at Flo’s Pizzeria Ristorante in Belmont and presented the award to Johnson.

“First of all, I was quite surprised by it,” Johnson said. “This is all due to our kids, it is an extension of them. The one of the thing we always try to do is play the game a certain way, and after a game when an umpire says that your team plays the game the right way, it means as much as anything. I am happy that we are perceived that way.

“They said the award is based on different criteria. It does include results, But they said when they presented it that it also is how they are respected and. That part of the awards means a lot to me. I’m very appreciative that our program is perceived that way.”

The Panthers advanced to the regional semifinals this spring, where they lost 10-3 to Grand Rapids Christian, which eventually won its second consecutive Division 2 state championship. That wrapped up Johnson’s 27th season, and it was one of the program’s most successful springs. The Panthers finished 27-7, with the victories setting a program record.

“We have been fairly successful on a consistent basis, but we also try to teach the game the right way, and our kids have been buying into it,” Johnson said.

Johnson, who won his 500th game in 2012, has a 532-292 record. He has guided the Panthers to 10 conference championships, eight district titles and a regional crown.

“One of the things that we as umpires really enjoy is doing games at Comstock Park because we always know that we are going to have a competitive game, we are always going to have good sportsmanship out of his players and Tim himself,” Titchenell said during Tuesday’s presentation.